1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatus for joining two abutting pieces of carpeting. More specifically, the present invention is a carpet tape dispenser for carpet seaming tape used in the seaming operation between carpet strips, which are normally installed within a home or place of business.
2. Description of the Related Art
A roll of wall-to-wall carpeting typically comes in standard widths of nine, twelve, fifteen or eighteen foot widths. In order to produce a continuous piece of material that will sufficiently cover a floor area, the carpet must be cut and joined together. When this occurs, a carpet installer will join the abutting sections of carpet together with seams. A carpet seaming tape is placed on the floor underneath the carpet backing to secure the abutting carpet edges that are being joined together.
The carpet seaming tape normally has an adhesive strip on the upper surface that is heated by a heating iron to a temperature sufficient to melt the adhesive. Once the adhesive is melted, the abutting edges of the two carpet sections are pressed onto the melted adhesive strip. After the adhesive cools, the two sections of carpeting are bonded in abutted relationship to achieve the appearance of an uninterrupted piece of carpet.
A common practice employed by carpet installers is to manually position the carpet seaming tape beneath the edge portions of carpet pieces to be joined by lifting those edge portions and physically placing the carpet tape in position. However, it is often difficult and time consuming to accurately position the tape centrally beneath the seam being formed. Moreover, the installer often has to reposition the carpet tape to ensure that it is centered between the abutting edges of adjacent carpet sections when applying the heating iron.
Accordingly, there is a need for a carpet tape dispenser that will properly position the carpet seaming tape for an even distribution of adhesive between the abutting edges of the carpet pieces to be joined. There is a further need for a carpet tape dispenser that will reduce carpet installation time by providing a means to dispense the roll of carpet seaming tape while simultaneously heating the adhesive with the heating iron.
Various devices have been proposed for dispensing carpet seaming tape. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,091, issued Apr. 8, 1986 to Lane, describes a tape holding container having a spindle within the container to dispense a roll of tape. A pair of cylindrical tape guides are positioned at the front and rear of the container to direct the tape from the roll through a discharge passage and across a trailing plate to be heated by a heating iron.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,810, issued Mar. 8, 1988 to Brooks, discloses a carpet tape dispenser having a main frame carried by divergent legs and runners. A roll of carpet tape is mounted on a stub extending transversely from a frame member fixed to the main frame. A tape guide is located between a pair of carpet separating arms that extend below the main frame. A handle is pivotally mounted to the main frame to allow the dispenser to be drawn or pushed along the carpet seam. As the dispenser is moved, the guides lift and separate the opposed carpet edges so that the seaming tape can pass between and beneath the separated edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,390, issued Mar. 1, 1994 to Roman et al., shows a carpet tape seam applicator having a pair of U-shaped bracket portions that are pivoted together at their open ends and have a removable spindle mounted adjacent the pivot to carry a roll of carpet tape. Small wheels are mounted to a tape guide shaft that is positioned at one end of the applicator and a bracket arm is located at the opposite end of the applicator to receive a handle portion of a heat bonding iron. The tape is fed over the tape guide shaft and is unrolled onto the floor surface as the small wheels of the applicator move forward.
Other patents showing carpet seaming tape dispensers include U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,040, issued Apr. 22, 1986 to Anderson (carpet seaming apparatus with a flexible elongated backing of non-stick heat reflective material); U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,396, issued Sep. 23, 1986 to Scarborough (carpet seaming apparatus that includes a hot glue dispensing gun with a nozzle); U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,150, issued Sep. 26, 1995 to Hoopengardner (tape dispenser used in conjunction with a seaming iron); U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,186, issued Feb. 14, 1995 to Knockum (carpet seam tape apparatus with a clamp to engage the carpet seam tape); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,178, issued Oct. 16, 2001 to Givens (carpet seaming tool constructed to eliminate the transfer of heat from the iron to the carpet).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a carpet tape dispenser solving the aforementioned problems is desired.